Spotlight on Take-Home Asbestos Victims

Most asbestos illness victims are men who handled asbestos-laced products. Women who were full-time caregivers or worked in the health care and social assistance industry at the time of exposure account for about a third of fatal mesothelioma victims. Most tiny asbestos fibers have sharp edges. So, they easily cling to surfaces like clothes and hair. When asbestos workers carry these fibers home, they infect people at an alarming rate.

Most likely, the take-home asbestos fatality rate has always been this high, but victims have only recently connected their lung cancer and other ailments to asbestos exposure. In most states, no matter how long ago the asbestos exposure occurred, a nationwide mesothelioma lawyer can obtain the compensation they need and deserve.

Once asbestos dust or fibers enter the air, family members and loved ones often inhale them. These fibers are also small enough to pass through tear ducts, sweat glands, and other tiny body openings. Very tiny and highly toxic asbestos fibers cause a number of serious illnesses that are usually fatal, such as pleural mesothelioma.

This rare and aggressive form of lung cancer begins with a tumor that forms in the delicate meso-lining between the heart and lung. The location and nature of the tumor make it impervious to most cancer treatments.

Radiation is a good example. The tumor is so aggressive that only high-dose radiation treatments shrink it. Bombarding patients with radiation near their hearts is risky at best. Frequently, the cure is worse than the disease, which is saying quite a bit.

Furthermore, pleural mesothelioma has a very long latency period. So, in most cases, by the time doctors discover the cancer, it has already advanced, meaning they must throw out the regular playbook and play catch-up.

Without radiation, one of the most important tools in the cancer treatment toolbox, the outlook is bleak. Pleural mesothelioma’s five-year survival rate is under 10%.

Indirect exposure victims have been in the spotlight lately, and indirect mesothelioma has been in the spotlight as well.

Raw asbestos was primarily used in the construction industry. Raw asbestos is also very similar to raw talc. In fact, asbestos and talc mines are often near each other, or even intermixed with each other.

As a result, stray asbestos fibers often taint cosmetic products, especially talcum powder. Women who regularly used asbestos-laced talcum powder in the past face a high risk of mesothelioma and cervical cancer today. The asbestos fibers migrated through the fallopian tubes and into other parts of the body, mostly the ovaries.

Ovarian cancer, much like mesothelioma, is usually fatal. Additionally, both these cancers are unusually painful. So the victim’s final years are very bad years.

Take-home and indirect asbestos illness victims can usually file civil claims against manufacturers or, if the manufacturer is bankrupt, a victim compensation fund claim.

Companies have a legal duty to sell safe products that are fit for ordinary use and do not have dangerous side effects. If they breach any part of this duty, a nationwide mesothelioma lawyer can obtain compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are normally available as well.

If the responsible provider is bankrupt and that provider contributed to a VCF, an attorney can file a claim with the Fund Administrator.

In a nutshell, these claims are easy to bring and difficult to resolve. No lawyer is on the other side, so the victim’s evidence is unchallenged. However, Fund Administrators never have a duty to negotiate in good faith. So, low-ball offers and other such tactics are par for the course. Only a very good negotiator can obtain maximum compensation in these matters.

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.